ANDE: Company Uses Rapid DNA to Make a Safer World

George Heinrichs, CEO

There are approximately 12 million arrests made annually in the United States. Only a small fraction of cases use DNA as a primary investigative tool. With few exceptions, laboratory generation of a DNA ID (sometimes called a “DNA Fingerprint”) from crime scene samples requires weeks or months. As a result, millions of samples are not submitted or even collected because the DNA IDs come in too late to have a real impact on the investigation. When samples are not processed, criminals remain free and often commit more crimes. Law enforcement needs a new approach to solve the DNA evidence problem. ANDE is that approach—a Rapid DNA Analysis product that generates a DNA ID in less than two hours. ANDE is not only fast— it was developed to operate outside of the lab by non-technical users. ANDE’s CEO, George Heinrichs, compares this change in DNA analysis to the transition of photography from film-based to digital media. Heinrichs adds, “The introduction of Rapid DNA Identification is a major paradigm shift in how DNA is used to improve safety in our communities, our nation, and the world.”

ANDE can be used by operators with limited training and outperforms standard laboratory processes. The technology is tailor-made for forensics, driving faster turnaround—literally saving lives— while freeing up scientists in the lab to focus on the small subset of the most challenging samples. The instrument has been used for several years in austere environments and has been tested to ‘MIL-STD 810G ’, the standard that means the device is suitable for transport to and use in the harshest environments.

Heinrichs describes a case in which there had been a vicious fight. By the time the police arrived, the suspects had disappeared. From the volume of blood at the scene, the medical examiner believed it was very likely one of the suspects had died and the body was removed. Based on testimony from witnesses, it was thought that there were two or perhaps three people involved in the incident. Once the samples were collected and Rapid DNA Identification was performed by ANDE at the scene, it was deduced that there were, in fact, five participants in the fight.

The introduction of Rapid DNA Identification is a major paradigm shift in how DNA is used to improve safety in our communities, our nation, and the world

This data immediately changed the course of the investigation. Ultimately, the police were able to identify the perpetrators. Rapid DNA Identification is a very powerful tool to focus criminal investigations and protect public safety.

A study of sexual assault in the U.S. showed that the average rapist commits approximately 12 rapes before being apprehended. Shockingly, 1 in 5 U.S. females is raped at some point in their lives. With ANDE, law enforcement will be able to stop this rape crisis by identifying assailants far more quickly, taking them out of circulation before they have an opportunity to repeat the crime. In addition to identifying rapists, ANDE will be able to bring justice to victims, exonerate the innocent, and help prevent future victims from suffering. The company notes that the products it is bringing to market right now represent a radical improvement over everything in forensics that has been available to date. ANDE is truly revolutionary with respect to its time to actionable result, ruggedization, complete end-to-end functionality, cost-effectiveness, and ease of use.

With the threats of crime, violence, and terrorism in the news every day all around the world, there’s a growing need for public safety tools to counter these threats. ANDE, whose mission is to make the world a safer place, is uniquely able to deliver on that mission with Rapid DNA technology that is smarter and faster than anything on the market. ANDE is not just changing the paradigm, it is changing the world.